HOA and county agree: take in your garbage cans

Q: I used to own a condo and always found your articles on a variety of subjects helpful and interesting. My question relates to garbage cans in non-condo developments. I have neighbors who leave them in front of their garage doors 100 percent of the time. Now, many of the other residents are doing the same thing.

By Barbara Holland RJRealEstate

March 15, 2019 - 4:17 pm

Barbara Holland

Q: I used to own a condo and always found your articles on a variety of subjects helpful and interesting. My question relates to garbage cans in non-condo developments. I have neighbors who leave them in front of their garage doors 100 percent of the time. Now, many of the other residents are doing the same thing.

It really cheapens the neighborhood. I know that there is an ordinance that addresses this for condos (keeping them out of sight). However, do you know of one that addresses this issue as it relates to developments such as mine?

I searched the Nevada Revised Statutes and was unable to find anything. I know that asking you is a long shot, but I’m giving it a shot in hopes that you have an answer or can direct me to a resource that will help. Thank you. Keep up the good work.

A: NRS 116.332 pertains to the rights of homeowners to store their garbage cans for collection, which applies to all association-type communities. An association may adopt rules that comply with county codes and regulations. Homeowners are allowed to store their garbage containers outside any building or garage on the premises of the unit during the time the containers are not in the “collection area,” i.e. the street curbs.

Now, the association can have a regulation that the containers must be stored in the rear or side yard of the unit if such locations exist, and in such a manner that the containers are screened from view from the street, a sidewalk or any adjacent property. As to the screening of the containers, the association can regulate the size, location, color and material of any device, structure or item used to screen the containers.

In addition, an association can set the time at which the containers may be placed for collection and removed for storage. Please contact your association for specific regulations on the garbage containers.

Also, please note that there are city and county codes as to placement and removal of the containers. The Clark County code, No. 9.04.150, states that for the purpose of collection, garbage cans may be placed no earlier than 2 p.m. on the day prior to the designated collection day and must be removed no later than midnight on the designated collection day. Your association may have a different schedule.

Q: We have a problem at my homeowners association, and the board of directors took an egregious knee-jerk reaction instead of addressing the issue. Our problem is two-part. Two weeks before our Oct. 30 meeting, someone broke into the pump room and tried to steal the spa heater. The board had the heater fixed and snubbed their noses at the suggestion of getting a monitored alarm system for the pump room.

Our second problem involves one owner who is a veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder. This owner leaves the gate to the pool ajar so the nearby homeless population can shower at the pool. The board refuses to permanently ban this owner from the pool out of fear of a lawsuit.

Which leads to the big issue. Because of this one owner, on Dec. 21 the board shut down the pool, and no date has been determined to reopen the pool.

My major question is: Are homeowners associations required to provide showers at the pool? The current board is a stick in the mud; they are adamantly against installing cameras and entry fobs at the gate. The management company supports the board’s position.

We have three board members, and two positions are up for election. If elected, the other candidate running and I agree that the pool needs the aforementioned security equipment to better monitor who uses the pool and when. I feel that having surveillance cameras with electronic entry locks will help identify issues.

We’re a gated community that does not have on-site guard service. We do have a call-in response for guard service.

A: The answer to your question of whether associations need to provide showers at their pools is yes.

As to your pool security issues, it would make sense for the board to discuss these issues and possible alternatives with its pool vendor. As to the homeowner with PTSD, the board does have the right to enforce its rules and regulations — and in this case, the closing of the pool gates is a requirement of the Southern Nevada Health District. Your board should discuss this particular case with their attorney as to how to proceed with this infraction.

Q: We have a question that hopefully can you answer for us.

Our neighbor just had a 6-foot dog-eared fence installed that blocks our view from our kitchen windows, and we are not happy about it. We live in a housing tract that has an HOA, and it has been made aware of this. We did not give our approval for this to be installed. Do we have to just live with this, or do we have rights as homeowners?

A: You may or may not have any options. It depends upon the association’s architectural guidelines. If the fence was approved by the architectural committee or by the board of directors based upon plans that was consistent with the guidelines, you would not have any real choice but to accept the fence. Most governing documents do not guarantee any views, often in relationship with landscaping and grown trees.

The “approval” that neighbors give or do not give on architectural plans is more of a courtesy and is not generally binding on the architectural committee or board. If the fence was not approved, you would possibly have some recourse based upon the guidelines.

Barbara Holland is a certified property manager, broker and supervisory certified association manager. Questions may be sent to holland744o@gmail.com.